Nicolas emedien uethxjn



May a, 1928.-

v E. METHLIN Y APPARATUS FOR THEQONTROL QF FIRING AGAINST AERIAL TARGETS 3116a pct. as. 1926 Patented May 8, 1928.

1 1,668,862 "PATENT OFFICE.

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APPARATUS FOR THE CONTROL QF FIR I NG AGAINST AERIAL TARGETS.

Application filed October 25, 1926; Serial No. 144,065, and in France August 12, 1928.

This invention relates to improvements in or modifications of the invention claimed in U. S. Patent No. 1,576,367.

The present invention relates to a modification in the devices described in the said prior specification andemployed for obtaining the products of factors which occur in the formulae giving the kinetic corrections Sand 0'. p a

The new principle put into operation consists in making use of a tachometer (of any type, electromagnetic, mechanical or other) for measuring the angular veloclties of'the target, then in recopying these velocities by means of a device comprising a pointer controlled by a handle by means of a double transmission of displacements enablin the angularvelocity to be multiplied first y the predicted duration of travel f,, then by the factor of correction mentioned in the prior Patent No. 1,57 6,367

(0+0 ntan a sin a $01- zenithal velocity I I According to the present invention, this same principle is employed in a noveland judicious manner for directly obtaining the products of three factors M fa g i a) a and f:

I Siil (d -hr) (1g sin 04, dt,

' which enter into the. expressions which en able Sand 0' to be calculated.

-In the'accompanying drawing the figure shows by way of example the arrangement of a device for determinin the kinetic correction in direction 8, WhlCh asstated in U. S. Patent No. 1,576,367 is expressed as two unknowns which placed vertically and whic {aid 0).

6: tan (a -i-a) do: 2 tan-a H? in which 7, is the predicted duration of travel of the PIOJGCtllG, a, the present site, a -i-o the predicted site and the azimuthal angular velocity of the target.

In the figure, l is a tachometer employed for measuring the azimuthal angular ve loclty. This tachometer may be of any type.

However in the example considered it has been assumed that the tachometer employed indicates both the direction and the magnitude of the angular velocity. 2 is the shaft controlling the tachometer, which shaft is driven by the direction member at'a speed proportional to from the initial position shown in dotted lines is proportional to 4 is a cylinder, the spindle 5 'of which is mounted in alignment with the axis of the follows "(in one of the two equations with serve for determining tachometer 1; 6 is a pointer mounted u on the'cylinder 4; 7 is a steel strip attache at one end to the cylinder 4 and at the other to an adjustin ar 8 which is ada ted to slide in fixed s ideways 9 andlO; 11 1s a pin attached to the adjusting bar 8; 12 a supporting plate which is ada ted to be dis- 7 has been assumed to be placedin front of the adjusting bar -8; 13 is a vertical rod rigidly secured to 12, whichpasses through a, fixed slideway 14 and terminates in a roller 15 which the weight of 12 keeps in contact with a camoid 16;-17 and 18 are two vertical uide rods rigi secured to :12 which pass t rough fixed sli eways 19 and 20; 21,

22 23 24 25 26 27 and-28 are mdunted iiponthd common support 12; 29

. allel and in addition t 15 edges to of 12 in a vertical direction,

35 mounted ufpona shaft 36 which is given 40 tical adjusting bar 48.

. 1 consists in keeping 5o dence with the pointer 3. v

6 of 29 and 11 and a d and a.e the proi'ecis a shaft which passes through 12; 30 is a lever (shown in dotted lines because it is located behind 12) mounted upon 29, upon which lever abuts the pin 11 which is conl stantly acted upon by the cylinder 4 in such a way as to tend to make it move towards the left. 31 is a lever mounted u on v 29 in front of 12, which lever abuts against a pin 32 guided in the manner described hereinafter.

The levers 30 and 31 must be mounted in such a way that the edges upon which the pins 11 and 32 ress are strictly pare distances from these the centre of 29 must be respectively equal to the radii of the pins 11 and 32. 33 1s a shaft supported by 21' and 22 and is screw-threaded over the art comprised between 21 and 22. 34 1s a long pinion mounted upon 33 and remains in engagement whatever he the displacements with a pinion movements rotation proportional to the l gredicted duration of travel f, which is still etermined as'described in U. S. Patent No. 1,576,367. 1 37 is a nut mounted u on the screwtwo angle brackets 38 and 39 guiding the 32 in such a way that its distance to the orizontal line passing through the centre of 29 is proportional to the predicted duration of travel 40 is a shaft supported vby engagement whatever be the displacements 40 of 12 in the vertical direction, with 'a pin ion51 mounted upon a shaft 52. The operator whose duty it is to work out 8 acts upon this shaft 52 and for this purpose his work In order to explain the operation of the mechanism hereinbefore described, let a-b be the distance between the centres of 29 and of 32, a-0 the distance between the centres tions of a-b and ac onto the vertical ine passing through a.

The mechanism must be adjusted in such a way that when 0' is brought to e the pointer 0 6 coincides with the position which the pointer of the tachometer occupies when w n the pointer a is kept in coincidence with turns as a function of hreaded part of 33 and provi ed with the pomter 6 in coincic the pointer 3, the length e-c will then be proportional to so that we have ec="K The length a -e must moreover be at each lnstant proportional to the value of tan a tan (a i-a) so that we have tan a tan' (a c) This result is obtained by suitably adjusting' the position of the camoid 16 which i a and is displaced longitudinally as a function of c.

As has been already explained ad is always proportional to f, so that we have These eq'uations having been established,

from which we obtain and by substituting for all, ea and .ae their values we obtain:

l iKgj-atan Q63 tan d (it It is thus seen that db is proportional to the kinetic correction in direction 8; and itwill obviously be the same with the number of revolutions through which the shaft 52 must be made to turn (starting from the position in which b coincides with d) in order to bring 6 on to 3.

This shaft 52 will therefore be able. to control through gear trains all the members into which the kinetic correction in direction 8 must be introduced as has been already described in U. S. Patent No. 1,576,367.

In order that the attendants will not be able to put the parts ofthe mechanism out of adjustment at the end of the movements of the levers 30 and 31, it willbe necessary to interpose efi'ort limiting means between the handles which serve for determining f, and 8 and the shafts 36 and 52 which these handles control. For the same. purpose provision may also be made of an automatic locking device for these shafts, operating a little before the levers 30 and 31 reach the endof their stroke.

The device for workin tion 0' will be entirely sim1 ar as regards the first term.

Having now particularly described and out the correc- "able ascertained the nature of my invention and in whatmannerthe same is to be performed, I declare that what I cl is 1. In apparatus for e determination of kinetic corrections in elevation and direction to be applied in the firing of anti-aircraft guns, the combination of a verticallyadjust- I late, an arm pivoted thereon, a horizonta 1y adjustable .slide, a pin on said slide engaging said arm, a secondpin engaging said arm, and means for adjusting said second pin horizontally relative to said plate. 2. Apparatus for the determination of ballistic corrections involving the product of a pluralit of factors comprising a vertically adjusta 1y plate, an arm ivoted there- .on, a horizontally adjustable s ide, a pin on said slide on gmg said arm, a second pin engaging sai arm, and means for adjusting said second pin horizontally relative to said plate, said second pin and adjusting means being carried by said plate.

3. Ordnance-apparatus for the determination of kinetic corrections in elevation and direction comprising a vertically adjustable plate, an arm pivoted thereon, a horizontally adjustable slide, a pin on said slideengaging said arm, a second pin engaging said arm, and means carried by-said. plate for adjustin said second pin horizontally) 4. Ordhance apparatus for the determination of ballistic corrections inelevation and direction comprising a supporting member movable in one direction, an arm'pivoted on said member, means movable in a dime-- tion at right angles to said first named direction and engaging said a'rm,. a second .movable means engaging said arm, .and'

actuating means for moving said second means in either of said dlrections.

5. Apparatus of the class described com-v prising a sliding. late, an .arm pivoted thereon, a member s 'dable in a direction at right angles to the direction of motion of said plate, means operatively connecting said arm with said member, a member engaging said arm, and independent means for comprising an arm constituting the'hypotenuse of a right triangle, means pivotally connected'to eachend said arm and slidablycrossing eachiother at right angles to constitute the legs of said triangle, said arm being supported by one of sai v y movable therewith to vary the length of "one legproportionally to one factor, a

means and member engagin said arm and movable in directions para] el to either of said legs, said member with said arm and its an porting means constituting a second, triangle similar to said first triangle, the movement of said member in a direction parallel to the movement of the supporting means varying the corresponding leg of the second triangle proportionally to' a second factor, and means moving said member in a direction at right angles to said last named direction thereby rotating said arm about its pivot andvarying the other two corresponding legs of said triangles simultaneously, the length of one of said last two 1e s mamtained proportional to .a third factor .by. the motion of said last named, means whereby said motion is proportional to the product of said three factors.

7. Ordnance apparatus for the determination of ballistic corrections by the mechanical solution of similar triangles comprising a pivoted arm'bodily movable in one direction, means movable in a direction at right angles to said-firstdirection by rotation of said arm, visual indicating means for re ating the extent of motion of said movab e means, and-'meansengaging said arm to rotate the same in accordance with said indicating means; v

8. Ordnanceapparatus for the determination of ballistic corrections based on the principle of similar triangles comprising a pivoted arm movable bo 11y in one direction, means moving said armin said direction proportionally to one factor, rotating means engaging said arm, means moving said rotating means along said arm proportionally toanother factor, and visual indicating means. for determining the extent of rotation of: said arm proportionall .to a

third factor whereby motion of sai rotating means with said arm is-proportional todirection, rotating tion and engaging said arm, means shifting a said rotating means parallel to said direction to vary the point of engagement with said arm, pointer means displaced by rotation of said arm, and a visual indicator determinin pointer w ereby motion of said rotat' means .maintain said pointer inthe indicated'position is pro rtional to the roduct of factors. introdu by said camoi means, shifting means, and Visual indicator.

In testimonywhereof Ihavc'signed this specification.

NICOLAS EMILIEN METHLIN.

the proper position ,of said 

